Mercedes Benz Stadium – Page 2 – FalconAlley Football

It Was Over From the Start

September 17, 2017

Allison Smith

Green Bay 23 at Atlanta 34

No, really. We lost the coin toss and Green Bay made their first mistake of the day. They gave Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Devonta Freeman the ball…..first. I felt good at that point, then 9 plays later, I knew it was already over as Free ran in his 1-yard touchdown. Which also answers the question of, “Who will have the first official touchdown in Mercedes Benz Stadium?” Free. Who else!?!

What a way to open Mercedes Benz Stadium. A Sunday night prime time, national game, hosting Green Bay, for the third time since last Halloween. Same two teams, same result. The Benz Nest was electric, the crowd loud, the roof, open.

Within 5 minutes, the Falcons were up 7-0 and did not look back. The Packers did drive back down the field to tie the game at 7 all with a 1-yard touchdown run of their own. From that point on, it was Atlanta scoring and Green Bay punting. On the Falcons next drive, Freeman had his second touchdown of the day, and celebrated with a jump shot into a net created by Andy Levitre. NOW, this is fun. We still need Mohamed Sanu or Taylor Gabriel to score, so we can get a good touchdown celebration, but we will take this for now.

Free Running Free – Leading to the first Touchdown in the Benz Nest

Sanu did have 5 catches on the day, good, over the middle, hit taking, stretching catches for 85 yards, yet no touchdown yet. Turbo had 2 catches for 14 yards. Which means, that Julio Jones was not the decoy, but the lead receiver for the day. Ju finished the day with 5 catches for 108 yards, including a big 34-yard reception, where he fought for those additional yards.

In the second quarter, “Money” Matt Bryant easily kicked a 51-yard field goal, followed by the first official receiving touchdown in the Benz Nest, a 3-yard catch by Tevin Coleman.

Don’t you worry, it was not all offense Sunday night. Healed and on his return tour, Desmond Trufant had an interception to stop a Green Bay scoring drive near the end of the half. In true Falcon style, with 47 seconds on the clock and 36 yards to go, Matt Ryan ran for 8 yards, passed over the middle to Sanu for 21 yards, had a short pass to Austin Hooper, then the touchdown pass to Coleman. The Falcons took a 24 to 7 lead into half time….to the ROAR of the crowd.

The second half started with the Packers receiving the ball, since they had chosen to give us the ball in the beginning of the game. Aaron Rodgers hands off for a quick 5 yard run by Ty Montgomery, who was quickly greeted by Deion Jones. THEN, the real excitement began. As Rodgers dropped back, Vic Beasley, Jr. sacked Rodgers, causing a fumble, which Trufant collected and ran in for a touchdown. Instantly, the Falcons now lead 31 to 7.

The teams then traded field goals, including Money’s 53-yarder. Finally, the Packers find the end zone again, go for the 2-point conversion, which fails. To be sportsmanlike, the Falcons ran some time off the clock, allowed the Packers to score another touchdown, have a successful 2-point conversion, then called it a game, running over 4 minutes off the clock and giving the ball back with just a minute and 2 seconds to go. The game ended with a Robert Alford tackle of Geronimo Allison.

De’Vondre Campbell had his first NFL sack and tallied 8 total tackles. Brian Poole started off hot once again this week, having the first and fourth tackles of the game, constantly swarming the ball carrier and ending the game with 6 total tackles. Grady Jarrett caused another couple of holds this week. Overall, the defense had many less missed tackles this week, which please Head Coach Dan Quinn, as there were double digit missed tackles in week 1. While there were only 3 sacks in the game, Rodgers became familiar with many of the Falcons defenders as he was knocked down all day, including getting to introduce himself to rookie, Takk McKinley.

Special teams was on fire once again, with Bryant tallying his 200^th field goal as a Falcon, Matt Bosher had touchbacks on all 7 kickoffs, punts of 50, 45, and placement punts of 38 and 32 yards. Andre Roberts had one kickoff return of 15 yards.

Overall, it was a great game. The only negatives were the injuries. Ryan Schraeder left early in the game with a concussion, and is in concussion protocol this week, therefore unlikely to play against Detroit. Courtney Upshaw was also injured with an ankle injury, which looks to be a sprain. Upshaw had an MRI and is out against Detroit. And finally, the most devastating, possibly more as a fan than to the team overall, was Beasley. DQ reported Beasley’s injury as a hamstring sprain and is out for this week, but will be week to week after that. Early reports and rumors defined Beasley’s injury as a tear and expected to be out 4 – 6 weeks. I’m going with DQ. Beasley may be out for a couple of weeks, then we have the Bye, so we may not see Vic until after that.

As we know, DQ loves versatility and depth, so we should be ok for a few weeks with the above injuries. Recently signed, Ty Sambrailo came in and did a good job for Schraeder. Brooks Reed, Adrian Clayborn, and Takk McKinley will step in and up for Beasley. With no defender playing all of the defensive snaps anyway, splitting Beasley’s and Upshaw’s snaps should not be a problem. Campbell can also step in to provide line support, as he has been playing multiple positions already and proven himself to have really stepped up his game this season.

Iron Falcon Award: While many are giving the MVP of the game to Trufant, and I do love Tru, my Iron Falcon goes to Adrian Clayborn this week. If you were at the game and watching, Claybo was SO close to Rodgers all night. And for a big guy, he’s got moves. He was all over the backfield, chasing Rodgers from side to side, out of the pocket, and while he only had 1 sack, Claybo was definitely disruptive.

#RiseUp

@FalconAlley OWT

TD and DQ Speak Preseason

August 26, 2017

Allison Smith

Some quick outtakes from Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn’s chat with Dukes and Bell on 92.9 Friday, August 25, 2017.

On the Mercedes Benz Stadium, it is a “real tribute to Arthur on what this team stands for.”

The team, in small groups, came in to tour The Benz Nest. Many of the guys went on Instagram Live and shared their amazement at everything from the view as they drove to The Benz, the locker room, the of course the field and the view from there. Everyone was excited to “be home.” As that is what Owner Arthur Blank called it….saying “Welcome Home” to not only the players, but the fans of both the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. Mr. Blank said this was our stadium, not his.

DQ and TD were glad to have the team inside on Friday, to get accustomed to their parking location, the locker room set up, their entrance to the field, and last but not lest to go ahead and “get caught up in the lights,” so that on Saturday, the team just comes out to play!

TD commented on this year’s teams saying, “We’ve had some great stars, but as a complete roster, speed, athletic, etc…. this is the best (overall) roster this year.

As always, DQ is focused on preparing for the game, whether game planning, or evaluating, he commented, “The routine is important, but the readiness needs to be there.” DQ is happy to have 4 full games to evaluate all 90 players as it give them all more opportunities to show what they can do.

Both DQ and TD are happy with guard play, the Right Guard position that Ben Garland and Wes Schweitzer are competing for. No decision on a starter will be made until after the final preseason game. But remember, even if you aren’t the RG starter, they have both had tons of time as backup center as well. I still wonder if DQ will name a season long starter, or use them interchangeably until one really stands out with the first team, or an obvious chemistry is seen. Realize that in the 2 preseason games so far, most starters, even O-Line have not played very long together. As I mentioned in FalconAlley Squawks during the offseason, but guys were pushing and supporting each other, and DQ said, “can’t be more pumped with their training camp.”

TD is excited about this defensive line. They took a “very direct and calculated approach…..with Vic Beasley, Jr., Adrian Clayborn, Brooks Reed, then bring in Takk McKinley and Dontari Poe, making this group a “very burly, manly group.” “They like to compete.”

Both TD and DQ are excited with the addition of Bryant Young, noting that he was a “great player, but can articulate and teach” as a coach. And if Young isn’t enough, you know DQ is very hands on with frontline D, and by hands on, we mean he is out there literally doing drills with the team.

On new Offensive Coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, DQ said that he “knew him and knew they could work together.” On Marquand Manual, who has now moved up to Defensive Coordinator, DQ and Manual have had “6 years together – a clear vision to know how we wanted to coach.” Both Sark and Manual will call plays from the sideline this week.

And our quote or lesson for the day comes from Dimitroff, “You win you win. You lose, you learn.” Hopefully this season, we just WIN.

#RiseUp

Featured Image Courtesy of 92.9 The Game

Welcome the The Benz Nest

August 19, 2017

Yes, that is what I plan to call the brand new and shiny Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, unless someone comes up with a better tag name. None of us have said “Georgia” next to “Dome” in years.

For a full live tour of the stadium, check out our YouTube channel, Falcon Alley24, where I break down the levels and sections in 7, yes, 7, videos as I tour and commentate the sites.

August 19, 2017 will be a day to remember. Atlanta Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, opened his second home to season ticket holders of the Atlanta United and the Atlanta Falcons. The best way to describe my day is WOW and THANK YOU Mr. Blank.

Mr. Blank said he wanted a fan focused stadium, well, he certainly delivered. I walked in through Falcons Landing and past the Georgia Dome into the front entrance. Once you pass through security and scan your own ticket, there is a huge open area where the band, cheerleaders, Freddie Falcon, and Felicia, the massive iron falcon, are located. I entered the actual stadium, and if not for seeing the field, would not know I was at a stadium.

The first view is the field ahead of you and Molly B’s to the right. Molly B’s, was of course, named for Mr. Blank’s mother. It has 2 sections of restaurant seating, one of which directly overlooks the field. There are numerous concessions around all levels of the stadium, specialty foods, burgers and dogs, ice cream, even a health food kiosk. And, as promised, every turn is a drink fountain where you can refill your own sodas all day long. There are also recycling containers throughout the stadium, and restrooms around every corner. Did I mention the 2000 TV’s?

Realizing The Benz was not at capacity, there were enough people there to understand the game day concept. All of the first level restaurants and amenities were open and operating, and many at each of the other levels were as well. There are living room set ups with huge tvs in several locations, to include additional screens at the bottom of the main screen which I imagine will show additional games of interest each week. There are lounge areas, charging stations, and standing tables throughout the entire stadium. This should definitely allow fans to come in and eat comfortably early and be ready and seated by game time. You can also eat at a myriad of locations while watching the game at the standing bars around the stadium, again, on all levels.

Speaking of bars, every liquor type seems to be covered and have an inserted bar along the way. Each of these looked like its very own bar that happens to be inside a stadium.

If you want a break from the game, you can check the city view from several locations on each level. The window views of the city are incredible and definitely open up the already huge stadium even more. There are also many photo opportunities, a Budweiser tower, a football field covering a wall, Atlanta United life size coin, and many more. Or, visit the 200 level for the DJ station, where there are tunes and contests, and maybe some celebrity visits.

The main team store is on the main level, but there are large kiosk stores on the other levels as well, so you cannot miss an opportunity to shop.

If you are disappointed to be on the 300 level, do not be. You can take the escalators or elevators (or dreaded stairs – which actually have great views of the city or the lower level crowds), to the level with all the fun. The 300 level includes 2 Sky Bridges and the already famed 100 Yard Club. The sky bridges are over the main entrance, do not contain seating, and provide an incredible view of the field and entire stadium, again, with shelved bars to stand and eat and drink and enjoy the day.

The 100 Yard Club has 9 columns spotlighting players and Head Coach Dan Quinn. I am not sure if these will change periodically, but for now the players spotlighted are Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, Deion Jones, Grady Jarrett, Vic Beasley, Jr., Matt Ryan, Desmond Trufant, and Alex Mack. All 4 sides of each column contain pictures and information about the player, their life, an impactful quote, charity work, etc. There are also stadium seats next to the walls between each entrance to the seats, several concession stands, standing eating tables, soda refill stations, and condiment tables throughout this section, that is all on top of a football field painted floor.

I missed the signings, but several Falcon legends were on hand to see the sites and sign autographs for fans as well. I did have a quick run in, almost literally as I was periscope walking, with Ovie Mughelli. Kudos to those that ran across the signings, I heard Ovie, Michael Turner, Michael Jenkins, Rod Coleman and others were there.

Last, but not least, the seats are bigger and more comfortable than the Georgia Dome. Depending on your location, you may have padded seating, cup holders are on the seat in front of you – or on your arm rest, and some arm rests are movable. There is, literally, not a seat in the house that you cannot see everything, the highly touted halo board, the field, the city, everyone else. I was at the stadium for nearly 4 hours and still did not see everything, although I put in a good effort. Mercedes Benz and Delta have ground level sections. Inside includes a lounge and restaurant area, outside, they are fenced in, just behind the sideline.

Special thanks to the Atlanta Falcons for hosting this great event, so that we could all come in and find our seats, see all the sites, and make plans for game day. Now, on September 17, we will all be ready to head in, eat, and be in our seats in plenty of time to cheer for our Falcons over the cheeseheads of Green Bay.

BRING ON THE SEASON!!!

Be sure to check the links on our home page for our YouTube channel and Facebook page for the video tour and pictures.

#RiseUp